Microsoft retreats on Edge recommendation when installing Chrome and Firefox

Following a rush of negative feedback, Microsoft appears to be reversing a controversial test that it was conducting to promote Microsoft Edge on Windows 10.

As we reported last week, Microsoft first began testing a new screen in a Windows Insider build for the upcoming October 2018 Update that would promote Microsoft Edge when users attempted to install third-party browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Once you began running an installer for another browser, Windows 10 would present a popup that billed Microsoft Edge as the "faster, safer browser designed for Windows."

While the popup wouldn't prevent you from installing the browser of your choice—options in the popup let you open Microsoft Edge or "install anyway—it was seen as a step over the proverbial red line for many.

With the latest Windows Insider Fast ring build (17760), however, Microsoft appears to have pulled back on the test. The popup is no longer present when attempting to install another browser, serving as a sign that the company is acutely aware of the backlash (via CNET).

It's clear that Microsoft is trying to onboard as many users as it can with Edge as it seeks to curry back some of the browser share it has lost to alternatives like Chrome and Firefox. However, once someone has made the decision to download another browser, it's likely they've already made the decision to forego Edge, making the popup more of an annoyance than anything.